Rule

Alone but free

Lilliandil was many miles from her kingdom now. She was in the middle of nowhere, probably lost, with barely any resources left for her to live on. She had stolen her horse, Blush, from the stables. She liked that name. The horse was rather shy, and she was white with light brown spots. Lilliandil walked through a valley. There were big mountains in the distance, towering up high in the sky. And every once in a while, Lilliandil would pass a tree or two. The valley would've been very beautiful, but there were gray storm clouds in the sky. They blocked out any opening that released a ray of sunshine. 

Lilliandil was most certainly not prepared for a storm. She was hot, and the sweat made her sticky. Her cloak was glued to her back with sweat, but she kept it on. She didn't want to risk any passers recognizing her identity and reporting her. "We need to find a place to seek refuge soon or the storm will catch up to us," Lilliandil told Blush. She whinnied. "Well it's not a problem for you, you love the rain," she said, then she sighed. "Great. Now I'm the girl who talks to her horse." She looked up at the big storm clouds in the sky. Somewhere in the distance, thunder rumbled and boomed. "At least the rain—" With a loud boom of thunder, rain began to fall from the sky, and in an instant, Lilliandil and Blush were soaked. "Well, never mind. It started," she muttered. 

A huge crack of lightning flashed in the sky, followed by another booming roar of thunder. Blush reared and Lilliandil fell off her, tumbling to the ground. Blush took off and ran into the distance, neighing in fright. "No, Blush! Come back, girl!" Lilliandil shouted, but it was too late. Blush was gone. "You are not a very nice horse!" She yelled. She looked up as the rain pattered on her face. "I have to find somewhere to stay," she decided. She reached for her satchel, but it was also gone. It was on Blush when she had fled. "No, NO! THIS CAN'T BE!" Lilliandil cried. She looked around. The valley went on as far as her eye could see. She would just have to walk until she found somewhere to stay the night in.

If she even found a place before the day came. She walked through the valley as the rain fell from the sky. The storm wasn't going to end anytime soon. She kept her hood over her head, even though she hadn't met up with any passers yet. She was freezing cold, and she was alone. If this was what freedom tasted like, it certainly wasn't a sweet taste. And it didn't feel like rebellion either. Right now, freedom tasted bitter to Lilliandil. 

* * *

To Lilliandil's luck, she saw a distant light blazing a little far away from her. It was weak, like when drops of water touch fire. It must be a torch, Lilliandil thought. She wanted to run, but her legs were way too exhausted to take any sort of excitement. She walked over until she reached the torch. It and another torch were just outside of an entrance to a cave. Lilliandil walked inside, finally out of the rain. She walked through the cave, and suddenly, a bunch of other torches lit up, lighting a hallway. She walked through it until she reached a doorway. Instead of a door, there was a velvet curtain hanging in front of it. Lilliandil moved it aside and walked through the doorway.

She was in a big room. There were candelabra around, but their fire was small, so the room was dim. There were dark red pillows spread out across the floor in a circle, and in the middle was one big candelabrum. It had the brightest fire. Lilliandil walked up to a table. It had a shrine on it. There was a golden wheel sitting on the table. Lilliandil knew where she was. She was in a monastery. "I see you've found our sanctuary," a voice said. Lilliandil whipped around to see an old Asian man standing at the step. He was wearing Kasaya robes, and his head was shaved. "Who are you? Is this your monastery?" Lilliandil asked. 

"Were you out there in the rain? Oh, my dear child. I'm glad you found our place, otherwise you would've gotten a cold if you had stood out there any longer," the monk told her. "What is your name?" "My name is—" Lilliandil stopped herself before she said her real name. She couldn't have anyone knowing who she was. "My name is . . Lucy," she lied. "It's a pleasure to meet you." "Whatever were you doing out there during a storm?" The monk asked. "I was traveling. My horse ran off, she was frightened by a lightning bolt," Lilliandil explained. "Traveling when the weather's this bad? That's not a very wise choice," the monk said.